I wanted more oil pressure info than just the factory dash light. But I also wanted to keep the oil pressure warning light and get actual pressure information. So an added mechanical gauge was the way to go. You can use an electric gauge with sender but the sender is quite large and might give install and fit problems that a small mechanical gauge connection will not. Unfortunately there is no custom gauge pod for my year Camry so I located a universal one from a company called Lotek,
www.gaugepods.com which is designed to take a 2 1/16 gauge face. The price is about $12.99. I chose an Auto Meter Phantom Gauge but any 2 1/16 mechanical gauge will do. You will also need an adapter to convert the 1/8 BSP thread in the cylinder head to 1/8 NPT. The Auto Meter part # is 2269 and can be ordered through any Auto Meter dealer. You can also use a 1/8 NPT tap to convert the BSP. Just use grease on the tap to collect the chips and cue tips to clean out the threads. I elected to use a tap for my installation because I already had the tap, but it is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced. You don’t want metal chips inside your engine. I also recommend NOT using Teflon tape as it has a good capacity to get into oil passages. I used Permatex High Performance Thread Sealant with Permatex Surface Prep Spray for a tight, long lasting seal. I have used this before and it is reliable. You will also need a brass "T" fitting which has a 1/8 male NPT and 2, 1/8 NPT female ports. You can get these at auto or plumbing stores. I prefer the ones from auto stores because they tend to be more robust.
Here are the steps I used, with clickable thumbnail pictures: This is a guide only so any suggestions are welcome.
1. Pull off the upper inside driver’s side door trim which covers the driver’s side window pillar. It unclips easily if you are careful, and will pull away to gain access to run the wiring and pressure tube to the gauge and attach the gauge pod. Start at the end above the door and pry it off using your hands and a trim pry. Be careful not to loose the metal clips as they may separate when you remove the trim.
2. Determine where you want the gauge pod located on the pillar trim and use aluminum pop rivets with the proper sized drill hole to attach the gauge pod to the pillar trim. I recommend using a ball-peen hammer or other rounded tool to flatten the pop rivets on the inside of the pillar trim to avoid any clearance issues. Drill one hole at a time and install the pop rivet before drilling the next hole. The universal gauge pod will not fit exactly so you will need to determine the best fit. I found that one side fit perfectly while the other side needed to be trimmed with a razor knife after it was riveted on. I used black silicone seal to fill in the areas that did not give a tight fit to the pillar trim. Paint the rivets black and set aside overnight to allow the paint and silicone seal to dry.
3. Drill an access hole through the pillar trim that is big enough to allow both the pressure tube and the gauge light wiring to pass through in a straight line and without pinching. Be careful not to drill through the pillar trim as plastic has a tendency to grab drill bits. Set the gauge pod/pillar trim assembly aside.
4. Now drill a hole through the firewall for the gauge pressure tube to pass through. On my car there is a diamond shaped die cut piece of rubber floor trim that served as a start location point. It could be turned without needing to be removed to allow the drill bit to access the firewall. I also punched a hole through this trim piece so I could leave it in place. There was also a welded tab under this floor trim piece, on the inside of the firewall that helped locate where to drill. You will need to determine YOUR best location point. I had a friend tap on the engine compartment side of the firewall so that I could loosely figure out the best location. DO NOT DRILL until you are sure you will not drill into anything that should not have a hole in it, like the power brake servo. You will also need a 90 degree drill or 90 degree drill adapter as there is not enough room under the dash to use the drill without it. Use a pilot bit and drill from the inside of the firewall. Then finish by only drilling a hole large enough for the rubber grommet that came with the gauge. If your gauge did not come with a grommet you will need to purchase one separately. DO NOT PASS THE PRESSURE TUBE THROUGH THE FIREWALL WITHOUT A RUBBER GROMMET.
5. Remove the factory oil pressure sender. Use a cue tip to clean the threaded hole in the cylinder head with some type of non residue fast drying oil remover. I used brake clean, but carb cleaner should also work. Also clean the BSP to NPT adapter (2269). Follow the directions to apply the prep spray and thread sealant and install the adapter. If using an NPT tap you won't need the adapter but you will need to clean out any grease from the fresh cut threads. Also clean the threads on the factory sender. Now clean the threads on the "T" fitting, apply prep and sealant and using a backup wrench on the adapter turn in the T fitting to an angle that will allow a straight line hookup of the pressure tube. Make sure the tube does not touch any engine part. Notice the angle I used in the picture. Do not over tighten the adapter or “T” fitting.
6. Now run the pressure tube down through the access between the dash and the window pillar being careful to allow a position with clearance so the tube will not abrade. Now run the tube through the grommet in the firewall and using the tube adapter hookup that comes with the gauge attach the tube to the "T" fitting. I used a piece of vacuum hose to protect the tube from heat and abrasion. Route the tubing around engine bay stuff so it has a gentle curve and will allow you to remove other parts, such as the starter, without having to remove the tubing. Make sure it doesn’t touch anything that gets hot or rotates. Let the tubing hang out at the window pillar for now – don’t cut it yet.
7. Now go about wiring the gauge light. Remove the access panel below the dimmer switch with a pocket screwdriver. It should pry off – but be careful. Remove the dimmer knob by pulling it and remove the nut that holds the switch to the dash panel. Push the switch through the dash panel and pull it out of the access panel hole to expose the wiring. You will see three wires going to the dimmer, a white/black, green, and a black. If your Camry is different you will need to use a test light to find the correct wiring colors to hook up. Remember that dimmer switches have a power-in, ground-in and ground-out. You will want to wire to the ground-in and power-in. Fish the gauge light wiring between the window pillar and dash along side the pressure tubing and down under the dash to the dimmer switch. Use the same color wires as are provided with the gauge light. Give yourself plenty of length as you will cut it later. At this point you will need to determine how you’re going to splice the gauge wires to the dimmer switch wires. I used quick disconnect spade connectors that press onto the dimmer wires without cutting them. They turned out to be the smallest connectors I could use as space is limited. You make your own best choice. My gauge light wire colors were black and white, black for ground, and white for power. Attach the gauge white wire to the dimmer green wire (power-in) and attach the gauge black wire to the black dimmer wire (ground-in). Re-install the dimmer switch and access panel in the reverse sequence. Then pull the excess length of wire back through the window pillar/dash access. If you don’t want dimmer control of the gauge light then you will need to find a wire that gives you power when the head/parking lights are turned on.
8. Now you have the pressure tubing and gauge wiring hanging out at the window pillar. Take the pillar trim with gauge pod assembly and feed the tubing and wiring through the drilled hole and out the gauge pod hole. Now carefully re-install the pillar trim by pushing it on and getting it to “snap” in place. I found inserting the trim closest the dash first to be the correct way.
9. Cut the gauge wiring first so that you will have enough length to pull the gauge out of the pod without having to cut the wiring. The excess wire can be curled inside the gauge pod. Splice the wire leads to the gauge light leads in the correct color hookup. I suggest using heat shrinkable butt connectors as they won’t pull off. Now determine how long the tubing needs to be. As you can see from the picture of the tubing under the dash you should loop the tubing so that if you need to remove the gauge you will have enough tubing length to do so easily. Do not try to curl the tubing inside the gauge pod. Cut the tubing square with a tube cutter or razor knife and follow the gauge instructions on how the assemble the tubing to the gauge. Use the thread sealant and prep spray just as you did at the other end. Install the gauge light in the back of the gauge. Do not install the gauge yet; leave it hanging out so you can be sure it does not leak and that the gauge light works. Now turn on the car and check the connection at the engine and at the gauge for leaks. If you find a leak it may be because the tubing is not compressed enough. Try tightening the tube compression fitting first. If it leaks from the threaded fittings then you will need to turn them out, clean them and re-install maybe giving an extra turn. If there are no leaks you should take the car for a drive to heat the oil and see if any leak occurs, if not you can push the gauge into the gauge pod. Now tie up the tubing under the dash in a loop as shown to keep it out of the way of your feet and the pedals. You’re done. I would check the fittings for a while until you are comfortable they will not leak.
Linear Mode
